The true cost of poor onboarding in vacation rental businesses—and how to avoid it
"The cost of poor onboarding is a lot more than you think" – Heather Bayer
In this episode, Heather Bayer, co-founder of the Vacation Rental Business School and long-time industry leader, dives into the importance of hiring and onboarding for vacation rental businesses. Drawing on decades of experience, she explains how onboarding impacts everything from guest experience to community relations—and why getting it wrong can be incredibly costly. Heather shares personal stories, actionable insights, and real-world examples of how finding the right people and ensuring they are properly trained can make or break a business.
Key takeaways:
- Hiring the right people isn't just about skills, it's about alignment with values.
Every team member in a vacation rental business is dealing with multiple stakeholders—guests, property owners, the community, and the company. Heather stresses the importance of hiring individuals who can understand and balance these relationships. “One poorly trained employee can undo years of work with a single mistake." - Onboarding impacts your bottom line.
Heather explains the long-term cost of poor onboarding, from guest dissatisfaction to lost owners, and highlights the hidden financial impact of replacing employees. “Replacing an employee can cost up to three to four times their salary.” - Pre-onboarding can set the tone for success.
Keeping new hires engaged and excited during the lag between contract signing and start date is crucial. Pre-onboarding materials not only help reduce the time needed for training but also build enthusiasm before the employee even starts. - Thrive Essentials offers foundational industry knowledge.
Heather introduces her new online course, Thrive Essentials, which is designed to give new hires or those entering the industry a strong foundation in the vacation rental business. From the history of the industry to professional standards and stakeholder relationships, this course can save companies valuable onboarding time. - Mentorship is key to integrating new hires.
Heather recommends assigning a mentor to each new employee to guide them through the onboarding process, provide support, and answer any questions, particularly when managing remote and virtual assistants.
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Get 50% off the Thrive Essentials course using the code YAPSTONE50 Vacation Rental Formula – Thrive Essentials
- Download your free 90-day onboarding plan: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/lm/90-day-onboarding-plan
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